Overview
Discusses the theoretical foundations of communities of practice (CoPS) and research into their application in higher education
Offers insights into existing or planned CoP implementation
Provides practical guidance on establishing and sustaining higher education CoPs, based on international application and research from 71 authors across seven countries
Includes inspirational narratives on the opportunities and challenges faced and addressed by CoP leaders (facilitators) across a range of disciplines, contexts and locations
Addresses the higher education gap in the CoP literature, and the increasing emphasis on professional and social learning as well as the unique leadership role of CoP facilitators
Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
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Table of contents (29 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Theoretical Underpinnings Informing Communities of Practice
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Front Matter
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Research of Higher Education Communities of Practice
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Front Matter
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Leadership in Higher Education Communities of Practice
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Front Matter
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Keywords
- Cultural Issues in Tertiary Education
- Curriculum communities
- Faculty Learning Communities
- Higher Education Communities
- Intercultural Awareness
- Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
- Organic Communities of Practice
- Research Supervisors
- facilitation in education
- knowledge domains
- leadership in education
- learning networks
- professional development in higher education
- professional learning communities
- scholarship and research
- social learning theory
- social media in education
- virtual communities of practice
- workplace learning
- learning communities
About this book
In this book about communities of practice in the international, higher education sector, the authors articulate the theoretical foundations of communities of practice (CoPs), research into their application in higher education, leadership roles and how CoPs sustain and support professional learning. Research demonstrates that communities of practice build professional and personal links both within and across faculty, student services and administrative and support units. This book describes how community of practice members may be physically co-located and how social media can be used to connect members across geographically diverse locations. It positions higher education communities of practice within the broader community of practice and social learning literature, and articulates the importance of community of practice leadership roles, and the growing focus on the use of social media for community of practice implementation. The multiple perspectives provide higher education leaders, academic and professional staff with the means to establish, or reflect on existing CoPs, by sharing insights and critical reflections on their implementation strategies, practical guidelines and ideas on how community of practice’s theoretical underpinnings can be tailored to the higher education context.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Aileen Cater-Steel is a professor of information systems at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Her research interests include IT service management, IT governance, e-learning, and research supervision. At USQ she facilitates a community of practice for research supervisors. Aileen has led two Australian Research Council Linkage projects in the area of IT service management and is an active researcher in the Australian Centre for Sustainable Business Development. Aileen’s work has been published in many top-tier international academic journals. She has published three edited collections of research articles. Aileen is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society. Prior to her academic career, Aileen held senior IT positions in the public and private sector.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Communities of Practice
Book Subtitle: Facilitating Social Learning in Higher Education
Editors: Jacquie McDonald, Aileen Cater-Steel
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2879-3
Publisher: Springer Singapore
eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-10-2877-9Published: 21 November 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-10-9728-7Published: 30 April 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-981-10-2879-3Published: 14 November 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXXIX, 622
Number of Illustrations: 28 b/w illustrations
Topics: Higher Education, Educational Technology, International and Comparative Education